Panel Highlights the Voice of People with Disabilities

‍When Alliance Colorado held its annual professional Summit in Breckenridge September 1st through 3rd, the Durango area was well represented. Four members of the Southwest Colorado nonprofit Our Own Lives presented a session on “What We Want and How We Want It” to a packed room of disability service providers from across the state.

Our Own Lives is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing disability services and supports that are designed and led by people with disabilities.

The original vision for the panel came from Cathy Sykes, the Activities Coordinator and Client Leadership Council member with Our Own Lives, as well as the Board Secretary for Community Connections. Sykes has attended the Alliance Summit annually since 2023 and has advocated for increased participation and leadership of people with disabilities at the conference and in the organization.

The intent for the panel was to elevate the voices of people with disabilities and provide insight to disability service providers on how they want to be served. Sykes’ goal was to demonstrate the power of people with disabilities speaking out and the damage done when they are shut down or ignored.

Sykes recruited two other program participants from Our Own Lives to join her and enlisted Jeff Newman, Our Own Lives’ new CEO, to moderate the panel and provide the support and confidence Sykes needed to make the panel a success.

Panelists focused on the experience of receiving services in the Colorado Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) system and how service providers can better center the voices of people with disabilities.

Sykes and her colleagues used examples from their experiences at Our Own Lives, which focuses on ensuring the people in services have autonomy and input in the services they receive. Clients are involved in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring new employees. They can also fire someone who isn’t working out.

The panelists shared that having this say in their support staff is critical. They feel a sense of control over their own lives and can avoid working with people who won’t listen to their needs.

Two of the panelists also shared the experience of working for Our Own Lives as well as receiving services. Our Own Lives has addressed the dual issue of the long-term shortage of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and underemployment for people with disabilities by hiring people with IDD to serve as DSPs.

The panelists shared that disability services help them with things like living independently, finding and keeping a good job, and managing their anxiety. But they still have to work hard to ensure their voice is heard and not be pushed into doing things they don’t want to do by well-meaning but misguided staff who think they know better than the person they are supporting.

When asked what her goals are from here, Sykes says “we need to get the word out there more.” She would like to include more people with disabilities from across the state at next year’s conference and an online version available to all.